Brotherhood brings Pitt, cast together in war film 'Fury'

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When writer-director David Ayer decided to tackle the "beaten-to-death" World War Two movie genre with "Fury," he decided to make it an intimate affair for his cast led by Brad Pitt.

"When I told people I was going to make a World War Two movie, the eyes rolled, you hear the groan," Ayer recalled. "It's really the study of a family that happens to live in a tank and kill people."

"Fury," out in U.S. theaters on Friday, follows five men led by hardened war veteran Wardaddy (Pitt), overcome with fatigue and trucking along in Nazi Germany during the final months of World War Two.

"My (motive) is bringing a cast together and turning them into a family, turning them into brothers," Ayer said. "I haven't really seen that level of intense character study in a World War Two movie, and I felt like it was time for that."

Made for $68 million by Sony Corp's Sony Pictures Entertainment, "Fury" is an intimate story amid war-torn battlefields. It is projected to open with $25 million at the U.S. box office, according to BoxOffice.com.

Joining Pitt in the tank are actors Shia LaBeouf, John Bernthal, Michael Pena and Logan Lerman, who all underwent an intensive military boot camp to research and bond.

"It's really tough," said Pena. "From the rations to waking up early to being sleep deprived, you're really having to rely on the other person to get through."

Pena, who previously worked with Ayer on 2012 police drama "End of Watch, jokingly compared working with the director to a root-canal dental procedure.
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